Long distance isn’t always a romantic struggle

Sometimes it can be easy to forget that all kinds of relationships can happen over long distances, not just romantic ones. Personally, I have multiple close friends who opted to venture to different parts of Florida and the entire United States to pursue their degrees. Platonic relationships are often put on the back burner and seen as inferior to romantic and familial relationships. Though people are often willing to move to make a romantic relationship easier, it is not very often that you would do the same for friendship.

Friendships endure much of the same hardships that relationships do, and it can be extremely upsetting to see your close friends settling into lives that don’t include you in their day-to-day routine. Especially when distance is cause by pursuit of higher education, it can be hard to find time for school, local friends, family and your long distance friends.

“Relationships are all about time and effort, and as long as you don’t lose sight of that, maintaining your friendships will come naturally,” according to an article published on University of Missouri-Kansas City’s website. You can read more at info.umkc.edu/housing/how-to-maintain-long-distance-relationshipsfriendships/.

As with romantic relationships, in the modern age it is very easy to stay connected to your friends through social media. Utilizing Facebook and Twitter to tag each other in funny posts, share life events, or even just an old memory can help to lessen the distance between you. Though fostering new friendships will be an important and integral part to your development in your new city, you should never discount the importance of your old friends.